Sorry. The subject in this case is clearly Jesus. Everyone's focus here is clearly the risen Jesus. You are altering the grammar used (changing the subject) and is a violation of grammar.The New Testament is full of sentences where Jesus and the Father are placed together in the same sentence, and the title "God" goes always to the Father, not to Jesus. We can see that later on.
In this passage, the evangelist makes Thomas praise Jesus, as Lord, and also praised God, YHWH, who had risen Him from the dead.
This interpretation is compatible with two robust evidences:
- Jesus had just said that His God was the same God of his apostles.
- The apostles preached that God the God of Israel (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) had raised Jesus from dead.
Preexistence is a mark of deity. How many people do you know that have pre-existed before their earthly life? Oh, I forgot. You must believe in Hindu preexistence. If so, that explains your view. That is not a Biblical Christian view.That verse is important for the topic of preexistence, not for the topic of Jesus deity. Preexistence is not deity.
The expression "I Am" pronounced by Jesus cannot be taken from the context of everything Jesus had said about who he was. He was the One sent by his Father, the Son of God, the Messiah, the Son of Man, the Door, the Way, the Good Shepherd, etc .
That Angel also declared that He is the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ So, there is more than just a typical Angel here. I'll do some research and get back to youIn addition, even if Jesus was referring to the burning bush, Stephan says that it was an angel, a Messenger from God, who talked to Moses from the burning bush (Acts 7:30). So, even if Jesus was referring to be part of that particular event, he was reminding everyone his role as a Messenger from God.
30 “And when forty years had passed, an Angel [a]of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai. 31 When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he drew near to observe, the voice of the Lord came to him, 32 saying, ‘I am the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and dared not look.